Paul Guest (MFA '99, poetry) has received a contract for his memoir and his third collection of poems from the internationally renowned Ecco Press!
Check out this announcement from Publishers Weekly:
Publisher's Weekly
Paul, you rule! Congratulations!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Recognition for Curtis Crisler
Tough Boy Sonatas, the first collection of poems by Curtis Crisler (MFA '04, poetry) continues to receive recognition:
"In Booklist 2007 Editor's Choice Vol. 104, No. 9/10 Tough Boy Sonatas got another spread on page 56, and we got on: 1) SLJ Best Books, 2) Best Books for Young Adults (nominee) YALSA/ALA, 3) Cybils Poetry Award (nominee)."
Thanks, Curtis, for the update!
"In Booklist 2007 Editor's Choice Vol. 104, No. 9/10 Tough Boy Sonatas got another spread on page 56, and we got on: 1) SLJ Best Books, 2) Best Books for Young Adults (nominee) YALSA/ALA, 3) Cybils Poetry Award (nominee)."
Thanks, Curtis, for the update!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Allison Joseph first place winner in Elizabeth R. Curry poetry contest
Allison Joseph's poem "What Poetry Is" has been awarded first place in the annual Elizabeth R. Curry poetry contest, sponsored by SLAB (Slippery Rock University).
SLAB
SLAB
Ingrid Moody (MFA '07) finalist for Philip Levine Prize
Ingrid Moody's manuscript "Arriving After Dark" was a finalist for the 2007 Philip Levine Prize, a contest co-sponsored by Anhinga Press and the MFA Program in Creative Writing at CSU Fresno.
More about the Levine Prize:
CSU Fresno
More about the Levine Prize:
CSU Fresno
Adrian Matejka to teach at Summer Writers Institute
Adrian Matejka (MFA '01, poetry) will teach the poetry workshop at this summer's Summer Writers Institute at Washington University in St. Louis.
More information at
Summer Writers Institute
More information at
Summer Writers Institute
Douglas Haynes (MFA '02) to Present at AWP Conference
Douglas Haynes (MFA '02, poetry) will be presenting at the upcoming AWP Conference in NYC:
"I'll be there--I'm presenting a paper at the Pedagogy Forum on Friday morning (my paper is also one of twenty selected to be published as "The Best of the Pedagogy Forum" on the AWP website)."
Douglas is also interested in getting together with other SIUC MFA alums and current students. Contact him if you'd like to make plans. He can be reached at New England College
"I'll be there--I'm presenting a paper at the Pedagogy Forum on Friday morning (my paper is also one of twenty selected to be published as "The Best of the Pedagogy Forum" on the AWP website)."
Douglas is also interested in getting together with other SIUC MFA alums and current students. Contact him if you'd like to make plans. He can be reached at New England College
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Congrats to Alex Lumans!
from today's e-mail. Congrats are in order
for second-year fiction writer Alex Lumans:
I got a story accepted for publication in Clarkesworld. The
story is called "The Human Moments." It will come out on February
1st and can be read at
Clarkesworld
for second-year fiction writer Alex Lumans:
I got a story accepted for publication in Clarkesworld. The
story is called "The Human Moments." It will come out on February
1st and can be read at
Clarkesworld
Friday, January 25, 2008
Additional Reading for the Spring 2008 Schedule
The Carbondale Branch of the American Association of University Women
presents a poetry reading by
SIUC poet and professor Allison Joseph
February 13, 2008
SIUC Student Center Missouri Room, 6PM
Free and Open to the Public
Allison Joseph is the author of five collections of poetry: What Keeps Us Here (Ampersand Press, 1992), Soul Train (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 1997), In Every Seam (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997), Imitation of Life (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 2003), and Worldly Pleasures (Word Press, 2004). Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Southern Review, Giant Steps: The New Generation of African American Writers, and The Extraordinary Tide: New Poetry by American Women. She has received fellowships from the Illinois Arts Council and the Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers Conferences.
A faculty member at SIUC since 1994, Allison serves as editor and poetry editor of Crab Orchard Review, SIUC’s national journal of creative works, and director of the Young Writers Workshop, an annual creative writing workshop held on the Carbondale campus each June for high school-aged writers.
presents a poetry reading by
SIUC poet and professor Allison Joseph
February 13, 2008
SIUC Student Center Missouri Room, 6PM
Free and Open to the Public
Allison Joseph is the author of five collections of poetry: What Keeps Us Here (Ampersand Press, 1992), Soul Train (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 1997), In Every Seam (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997), Imitation of Life (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, 2003), and Worldly Pleasures (Word Press, 2004). Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies such as Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, Southern Review, Giant Steps: The New Generation of African American Writers, and The Extraordinary Tide: New Poetry by American Women. She has received fellowships from the Illinois Arts Council and the Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers Conferences.
A faculty member at SIUC since 1994, Allison serves as editor and poetry editor of Crab Orchard Review, SIUC’s national journal of creative works, and director of the Young Writers Workshop, an annual creative writing workshop held on the Carbondale campus each June for high school-aged writers.
Congratulations are in order for...
Third-year poetry MFA Tim Shea, whose poem "Looking at a Photograph from Wartime, I Will Be the Next Hit by Fire," was accepted for publication by RATTLE.
Third-year poetry MFA Helena "Hel" Bell, who has been accepted to law school at Campbell University and the University of Illinois.
MFA '07 poetry grad Elisabeth "Lis" Meyer, whose poem “Miscommunication, On the Theme of Birds” was selected by the judges as the 1st runner-up in University of Kentucky Poetry Broadsides Contest at the University of Kentucky, where Lis is currently a doctoral student in literature. Her poem will be printed as a broadside by the King Library Press and displayed around campus.
Third-year poetry MFA Helena "Hel" Bell, who has been accepted to law school at Campbell University and the University of Illinois.
MFA '07 poetry grad Elisabeth "Lis" Meyer, whose poem “Miscommunication, On the Theme of Birds” was selected by the judges as the 1st runner-up in University of Kentucky Poetry Broadsides Contest at the University of Kentucky, where Lis is currently a doctoral student in literature. Her poem will be printed as a broadside by the King Library Press and displayed around campus.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
2008 Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest Guidelines
ANNOUNCING THE 2008 ROXANA RIVERA MEMORIAL POETRY CONTEST
Join SIUC’s Creative Writing and Women’s Studies Programs as we honor the memory of a wonderful poet and celebrate Women’s History Month.
The Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest honors the memory of Roxana Rivera (1977-2003), who was a first-year creative writing graduate student from Lynwood, California. Roxana, a graduate of California State University Long Beach, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and English. While at SIUC, Roxana was a PROMPT Scholar and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of English.
To remember this special woman and poet, a campus-wide poetry contest will be held, with divisions for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Gift certificates will be awarded as prizes in both divisions:
$80 for first place $40 for second place $25 for third place
This contest is open to all students currently enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Students of all majors are encouraged to participate in this contest.
This Year’s Theme: “It Takes A Woman”
DEADLINE: Friday, March 21, 2008
Submission Guidelines:
Submit an entry packet with:
1) A cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and poem titles. Indicate on your cover sheet whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.
2) Poem(s) on individual sheets (one poem only per page). No identifying information on the poems themselves, please. There is no entry fee, but there is a limit of three poems per entrant.
The contest theme is provided to spark your creativity, and entries that reflect upon the theme in the lives of women are particularly welcome.
Entry packets should be submitted to Prof. Allison Joseph, English Dept., Faner Hall 2380, Mail Code 4503. Entries may be sent via campus mail or dropped off at the English Department office (Faner Hall 2380) during regular campus office hours. Winners will be honored at a special awards ceremony to be held on March 27, 2008.
Join SIUC’s Creative Writing and Women’s Studies Programs as we honor the memory of a wonderful poet and celebrate Women’s History Month.
The Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest honors the memory of Roxana Rivera (1977-2003), who was a first-year creative writing graduate student from Lynwood, California. Roxana, a graduate of California State University Long Beach, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and English. While at SIUC, Roxana was a PROMPT Scholar and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of English.
To remember this special woman and poet, a campus-wide poetry contest will be held, with divisions for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Gift certificates will be awarded as prizes in both divisions:
$80 for first place $40 for second place $25 for third place
This contest is open to all students currently enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Students of all majors are encouraged to participate in this contest.
This Year’s Theme: “It Takes A Woman”
DEADLINE: Friday, March 21, 2008
Submission Guidelines:
Submit an entry packet with:
1) A cover sheet with your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and poem titles. Indicate on your cover sheet whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.
2) Poem(s) on individual sheets (one poem only per page). No identifying information on the poems themselves, please. There is no entry fee, but there is a limit of three poems per entrant.
The contest theme is provided to spark your creativity, and entries that reflect upon the theme in the lives of women are particularly welcome.
Entry packets should be submitted to Prof. Allison Joseph, English Dept., Faner Hall 2380, Mail Code 4503. Entries may be sent via campus mail or dropped off at the English Department office (Faner Hall 2380) during regular campus office hours. Winners will be honored at a special awards ceremony to be held on March 27, 2008.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Upcoming Visitors: Writers on the Road Reading Series
An update from Shanie Latham about "Writers on the Road":
The next "Writers on the Road" event is this Friday, Jan. 25, from 4 to 5 in the Mississippi Room and will feature graduate students from the University of Missouri - Kansas City reading from their fiction and poetry.
The reading is free and open to the public.
The next "Writers on the Road" event is this Friday, Jan. 25, from 4 to 5 in the Mississippi Room and will feature graduate students from the University of Missouri - Kansas City reading from their fiction and poetry.
The reading is free and open to the public.
Monday, January 21, 2008
SIUC at the 2008 AWP Conference in New York, NY
Though SIUC is not a sponsor for this year's AWP Conference in New York City, several MFA Carbondale folks will be at the conference, serving on panels:
Friday, February 1, 2008, 12-1:15 PM
Conference Room K
Sheraton, Lower Level, Executive Conference Center
F149. Keeping Things Afloat: The Business of Literary Magazine Publishing. (Ron Mitchell, Lynne Nugent, Richard Sowienski, JON TRIBBLE) Managing editors from Crab Orchard Review, The Iowa Review, The Missouri Review, and Southern Indiana Review, literary journals that differ in print run, staff, and budget-but not ambition-explore the dual roles of managing content and commerce, addressing unique and shared operating challenges in the current climate of fiscal crisis, including administering contests, "in-sourcing" production and design, securing grants, and implementing both traditional and web-based marketing strategies.
Friday, February 1, 2008, 12-1:15 PM
Conference Room E
Sheraton, Lower Level, Executive Conference Center
F148. Writing and Motherhood. (JACINDA TOWNSEND, Dani Shapiro, Ann Hood, Crystal Wilkinson, Lori Tharps, Joey Flamm Costello) Writing, claims author Jessamyn West, is a solitary occupation, with family, friends, and society a writer's natural enemies, and indeed, society often sees parenthood as antithetical to authorship. Yet many women and men successfully write through their parenting years. Our panel is composed of six mothers who will discuss the cohabitation of motherhood and authorship. Among other topics, we will explore questions of how we overcome intrusions into the "rooms of our own," and whether these intrusions themselves often allow us to produce.
Saturday, February 2, 2008, 9-10:15 AM
Mercury Ballroom
Hilton, 3rd Floor
S112. Ultra-talk Poetry. (David Kirby, Barbara Hamby, RODNEY JONES, Mark Halliday, Adrian Blevins) The Spring 2007 issue of TriQuarterly, "The Ultra-talk Issue", was compiled by guest editors Barbara Hamby and David Kirby and consists of 104 poems by 64 poets, including Collins, Olds, Perillo, Hoagland, and Goldbarth. Ultra-talk poetry has been called "garrulous to an extreme, quite often self-reflexive, determinedly associative, and frequently humorous." Panelists will discuss the ultra-talk aesthetic using their own and others' poems from the TriQuarterly issue.
For more information about AWP and the annual conference, visit
Association of Writers and Writing Programs
SIUC will be a sponsor for AWP in 2009, when the conference returns to Chicago.
Friday, February 1, 2008, 12-1:15 PM
Conference Room K
Sheraton, Lower Level, Executive Conference Center
F149. Keeping Things Afloat: The Business of Literary Magazine Publishing. (Ron Mitchell, Lynne Nugent, Richard Sowienski, JON TRIBBLE) Managing editors from Crab Orchard Review, The Iowa Review, The Missouri Review, and Southern Indiana Review, literary journals that differ in print run, staff, and budget-but not ambition-explore the dual roles of managing content and commerce, addressing unique and shared operating challenges in the current climate of fiscal crisis, including administering contests, "in-sourcing" production and design, securing grants, and implementing both traditional and web-based marketing strategies.
Friday, February 1, 2008, 12-1:15 PM
Conference Room E
Sheraton, Lower Level, Executive Conference Center
F148. Writing and Motherhood. (JACINDA TOWNSEND, Dani Shapiro, Ann Hood, Crystal Wilkinson, Lori Tharps, Joey Flamm Costello) Writing, claims author Jessamyn West, is a solitary occupation, with family, friends, and society a writer's natural enemies, and indeed, society often sees parenthood as antithetical to authorship. Yet many women and men successfully write through their parenting years. Our panel is composed of six mothers who will discuss the cohabitation of motherhood and authorship. Among other topics, we will explore questions of how we overcome intrusions into the "rooms of our own," and whether these intrusions themselves often allow us to produce.
Saturday, February 2, 2008, 9-10:15 AM
Mercury Ballroom
Hilton, 3rd Floor
S112. Ultra-talk Poetry. (David Kirby, Barbara Hamby, RODNEY JONES, Mark Halliday, Adrian Blevins) The Spring 2007 issue of TriQuarterly, "The Ultra-talk Issue", was compiled by guest editors Barbara Hamby and David Kirby and consists of 104 poems by 64 poets, including Collins, Olds, Perillo, Hoagland, and Goldbarth. Ultra-talk poetry has been called "garrulous to an extreme, quite often self-reflexive, determinedly associative, and frequently humorous." Panelists will discuss the ultra-talk aesthetic using their own and others' poems from the TriQuarterly issue.
For more information about AWP and the annual conference, visit
Association of Writers and Writing Programs
SIUC will be a sponsor for AWP in 2009, when the conference returns to Chicago.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Congrats to Kerry James Evans!
a note in today's e-mail from Kerry James Evans, (second-year MFA, poetry):
"Iron Horse took a poem, "Design" for their National Poetry Month Issue."
Congrats, KJE!
Iron Horse Literary Review
"Iron Horse took a poem, "Design" for their National Poetry Month Issue."
Congrats, KJE!
Iron Horse Literary Review
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Congrats to Jason Lee Brown!
from today's e-mail:
"Trellis Magazine accepted my poem “Ballad of Hachiko” for publication."
Links:
Trellis Magazine: Trellis
Hachiko: Hachiko
Congrats, Jason!
"Trellis Magazine accepted my poem “Ballad of Hachiko” for publication."
Links:
Trellis Magazine: Trellis
Hachiko: Hachiko
Congrats, Jason!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Sabbatical T-shirt Sale
To fund her sabbatical travels, Allison is now selling the 2007 MFA Carbondale t-shirt for a mere $5 a pop! To get yours, e-mail her:
Allison
The t-shirts are beige, with the slogan "Write Your Life" on the front, and the mfacarbondale.blogspot.com address on back.
Allison
The t-shirts are beige, with the slogan "Write Your Life" on the front, and the mfacarbondale.blogspot.com address on back.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Adrian Matejka (MFA '01) poems forthcoming in American Poetry Review
Poems from Adrian Matejka's series on legendary boxer Jack Johnson have been accepted by American Poetry Review!:
"The poems The American Poetry Review is taking,"Sporting Life" and "Battle Royale," are both from the Jack Johnson project (that sounds like a soft jazz ensemble--The Jack Johnson Project, tonight at the Holiday Inn lounge). They didn't say when the poems were going to actually show up in the journal, but I'm patient."
Congrats, AD!
APR Web Site:APR
About Jack Johnson:
Wikipedia
"The poems The American Poetry Review is taking,"Sporting Life" and "Battle Royale," are both from the Jack Johnson project (that sounds like a soft jazz ensemble--The Jack Johnson Project, tonight at the Holiday Inn lounge). They didn't say when the poems were going to actually show up in the journal, but I'm patient."
Congrats, AD!
APR Web Site:
About Jack Johnson:
Poemspotting: January 2008 edition
"Bioluminescence," a poem by Jason Lee Brown, third-year fiction MFA, appears in the new issue of Spoon River Poetry Review.
"Ghost Story," a poem by Sara Burge, third-year poetry MFA, appears in the new issue of Court Green (as a part of the "Sylvia Plath" dossier).
"Blue Ribbon Tomato Soup," a poem by Kerry James Evans, second-year poetry MFA, also appears in the new issue of Court Green (though not in the "Sylvia Plath" dossier).
"Elegy for a Horse's Ass" and "Blue Collar Eulogy," poems by Michael Meyerhofer (MFA '06), appear in the new issue of MARGIE.
"Ghost Story," a poem by Sara Burge, third-year poetry MFA, appears in the new issue of Court Green (as a part of the "Sylvia Plath" dossier).
"Blue Ribbon Tomato Soup," a poem by Kerry James Evans, second-year poetry MFA, also appears in the new issue of Court Green (though not in the "Sylvia Plath" dossier).
"Elegy for a Horse's Ass" and "Blue Collar Eulogy," poems by Michael Meyerhofer (MFA '06), appear in the new issue of MARGIE.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Welcome Liam!!!
from second-year MFA student in poetry Will Tyler:
For those of you who don't know, Liam Henry Tyler was born on Dec. 30, 2007 at 12:12 am. He weighed 6 lbs, 10.7 oz and was 20 inches long.
In case you're calculating, yes, he was a little early, but is doing quite well. Bethany developed preeclampsia very suddenly in the week before Christmas and got to spend both Christmas and New Year's Eve in the hospital. Both mother and baby are healthy now, however, and everyone was able to go home on January 1st.
Congrats, Will and Bethany!
For those of you who don't know, Liam Henry Tyler was born on Dec. 30, 2007 at 12:12 am. He weighed 6 lbs, 10.7 oz and was 20 inches long.
In case you're calculating, yes, he was a little early, but is doing quite well. Bethany developed preeclampsia very suddenly in the week before Christmas and got to spend both Christmas and New Year's Eve in the hospital. Both mother and baby are healthy now, however, and everyone was able to go home on January 1st.
Congrats, Will and Bethany!
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Spring Semester 2008: Readings on the SIUC campus
Here's a list of Spring 2008 dates and readers.
Additional readings may be added--watch this blog for updates.
03/05 - Visiting Writers Series Reading by poets Brian Barker and Nicky
Beer, 4:00 - 4:50 p.m. – SIUC Student Center Auditorium, reception
and book signing in Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
03/17 - Visiting Writers Series Reading by fiction writer
Asali Solomon, 4:00 - 4:50 p.m. – SIUC Student Center Auditorium,
reception and book signing in Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
03/27 - Women’s History Month Poetry Reading by the six winners of
the Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest and this year’s judge,
poet Sandy Longhorn. 4:00 - 4:50 p.m. – SIUC Student Center Auditorium,
reception and book signing in Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
04/10 - Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Reading by Ciaran Berry,
author of THE SPHERE OF BIRDS (published by SIU Press), 4:00 - 4:50
p.m. – SIUC Student Center Auditorium reception and book signing in
Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
04/24 - Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Reading by Jake Adam York,
author of A MURMURATION OF STARLINGS (published by SIU Press), 4:00 –
4:50 p.m. – SIUC Student Center Video Lounge (Fourth Floor),
reception and book signing in Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
Additional readings may be added--watch this blog for updates.
03/05 - Visiting Writers Series Reading by poets Brian Barker and Nicky
Beer, 4:00 - 4:50 p.m. – SIUC Student Center Auditorium, reception
and book signing in Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
03/17 - Visiting Writers Series Reading by fiction writer
Asali Solomon, 4:00 - 4:50 p.m. – SIUC Student Center Auditorium,
reception and book signing in Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
03/27 - Women’s History Month Poetry Reading by the six winners of
the Roxana Rivera Memorial Poetry Contest and this year’s judge,
poet Sandy Longhorn. 4:00 - 4:50 p.m. – SIUC Student Center Auditorium,
reception and book signing in Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
04/10 - Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Reading by Ciaran Berry,
author of THE SPHERE OF BIRDS (published by SIU Press), 4:00 - 4:50
p.m. – SIUC Student Center Auditorium reception and book signing in
Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
04/24 - Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Reading by Jake Adam York,
author of A MURMURATION OF STARLINGS (published by SIU Press), 4:00 –
4:50 p.m. – SIUC Student Center Video Lounge (Fourth Floor),
reception and book signing in Old Main Lounge (5:00 - 6:00 p.m.)
Monday, January 07, 2008
Congrats to Laura Gross!
First-year poetry MFA Laura Gross has some exciting news to share:
"My poem "3AM" has been accepted by an online publication called
Chantarelle's Notebook. I believe it will be on their website
Chantarelle's Notebook
some time in February. It's one of my older poems that I wrote a few years ago, but
I'm glad that it has found a home."
Congrats, Laura!
"My poem "3AM" has been accepted by an online publication called
Chantarelle's Notebook. I believe it will be on their website
some time in February. It's one of my older poems that I wrote a few years ago, but
I'm glad that it has found a home."
Congrats, Laura!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Writers on the Road Reading at Murray State Update
Here's an update about the Murray State edition of Writers on the Road: the readers will be Jared Sexton, Andy McFadyen-Ketchum, and Tim Shea.
They will read in Faculty Hall on the Murray State University campus, Murray KY, room 208 from 1-2 pm on January 9.
They will read in Faculty Hall on the Murray State University campus, Murray KY, room 208 from 1-2 pm on January 9.
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